Sales
of Home Media Servers at 50 Million Units by 2010, demand for media
backup, competition among video providers, and wider accessibility of
IP content are driving deployment of media servers.

Annual sales of home media servers will reach nearly 50 million units
in the U.S. by the end of 2010, according to Parks Associates new
report Media Servers: Analysis and Forecasts. The report, which defines
a media server as a hard drive-based platform with media sharing
software linked via a home network, finds that demand- and supply-side
drivers will spur the growth of these media centralization platforms
over the next five years.

“Consumers will benefit from the capabilities and features provided by
home media servers, which will enhance their home media experiences and
offer safeguarding and storage for their digital content,” said Kurt
Scherf, vice president and principal analyst, Parks Associates. “In
addition, many industry players including technology vendors, equipment
manufacturers, and service providers will benefit from the development
and distribution of centralized storage platforms to the home.”

According to Media Servers: Analysis and Forecasts, the media server’s
presence as an emerging product category will expand the market for
hard drive manufacturers and technology vendors in home networking and
storage silicon. PC and CE manufacturers that incorporate media server
functionality into their platforms will improve their margins and be
able to attach new services and applications including IP-delivered
content to their products. Finally, the increasing competition between
video players including cablecos, satellite operators, and now telcos
will spur the rise of set-top media servers that allow users to access
stored content and services from multiple locations, both in and
outside of the home. These service-specific platforms will improve
customer loyalty and create new opportunities to build revenue through
enhanced services.